The Cincinnati Bengals are in a pretty good spot with the salary cap right now.
Duke Tobin and the Bengals currently have about $16.4 million in free cap space. Not bad, considering the gauntlet of major moves in free agency and the Dexter Lawrence trade.
This time of year, it’s usually worth wondering if the Bengals have any contracts they might regret going into the summer.
Only one really sticks out: TJ Slaton.
Slaton felt like a cut candidate earlier this offseason before Bengals brass and coaches seemed to go out of their way to start bringing him up in talks, quieting that idea.
Looking at his contract, Slaton is the 11th-highest cap hit on the team ($9.1 million) in 2026, while cutting him would save roughly $6.6 million.
Slaton was very good in his niche of run defense last year when asked, but he only played 53 percent of the defense’s snaps across 17 games. That type of salary for those snaps seems a little out of band.
Overall, though, this would be a different conversation if the Bengals were hurting for cap space. It would also be different if interior line depth hadn’t been such a weakness for years.
Now, Slaton plays a critical niche on an interior that also has Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, BJ Hill and other roster candidates like Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson.
This being perhaps the Bengals’ most problematic contract speaks to how well they’ve been doing with their deals and overall roster-building, though. Slaton might seem a bit out of band, but if the role he plays helps the defensive turnaround this season, none of it will matter.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Is there a contract Bengals will regret in 2026?
Reporting by Chris Roling, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris Roling, Bengals Wire | USA TODAY Network
